This is the first episode of TFF to really, really benefit
from the new longer writing schedule.It’s
also the first episode that I feel needed a commentary to help explain the
plot.Well, actually there are a few
other episodes that could have used such a treatise, but… all of those
episodes were crappy and I didn’t want to dwell upon them.“Dimensional Analysis” is actually good, so
I feel a bit more compelled to explain the plotting wonders therein… as well as
some of the Xindi-related stuff that some people are bound to object to.

Enterprise has always been a bit of a problem for me.Since the very beginning, it felt like the
creators kindly made every effort to contradict as much Trek canon as humanly
possible.I need not recite my list of
grievances here (because it would be a very long list), but suffice it
to say, I didn’t really consider Enterprise a part of the Star Trek
Universe.At best, I thought of it as
some sort of parallel universe… and at worst, I tried not to think about it at
all (“A Night in Sickbay” comes to mind.And “Precious Cargo.”Blech).But then, in the blink
of an eye, one single event made Enterprise worth watching: THE
XINDI.With episodes like “Twilight,”
“Stratagem,” and “Azati Prime,” the third season of Enterprise actually
made me a fan—right up until the moment strange Nazi alien filled the screen during
“Zero Hour.”I don’t know where that
particular plot thread is going, but… it certainly gave me a moment’s
pause.But since the rest of season
three was decent, I’m willing to tune into season four and see what happens.

But this little Enterprise renaissance left me with a bit
of a quagmire.Since ENT was actually
good, I naturally wanted to incorporate some of those elements into TFF…But I went out of my way to show that Enterprise
was a parallel universe in the episode “Ghosts” and really… the whole Xindi-arc
still didn’t fit in with Star Trek canon.My solution was, of course, “Dimensional Analysis.”Basically, the episode is saying that the
Xindi do exist, and that the Guardians/Sphere Builders are trying
to eliminate humanity in EVERY timeline… But did the Xindi attack happen in the
established Trek universe we’ve known and loved for so many years?Or did it happen in some sort of parallel
universe as I indicated in “Ghosts”?That’s for you to decide.For my
part, I’m sticking with the parallel universe theory… at least until I see how
the whole Nazi/World War II thing plays out next year.(For the record, I’m not too optimistic
about it—but I’d love to be wrong.)

I’d also like to clear up the Yelss thread that has been running
throughout the entire series—and since this is probably the last time we’re
going to see the Yelss, there’s no better time to do so.In terms of the Yelss plot, this episode is
the beginning… which is strange, since it’s also the end, but their story has
been inverted all along, so I guess it’s a fitting beginning/end.Every single encounter the Starlight
had with the Yelss over the years, was a temporal incursion.Prior to the arrival of the Epoch and
Guardian intervention in 2421, the Yelss did NOT have temporal technology.And when they finally did acquire
that tech, they split up into two factions—the evil faction we saw in episodes
like “Termina” and “Eleventh Hour,” and the good faction, featured in “The
Odyssey” arc… and in the end of this episode.Granted, the “good” faction is still a bit devious, but they’re not as
evil as the “bad” faction.

“Dimensional Analysis” is 66-pages of fan service. You’re welcome.
JAt the end of each and every season, I take a reader poll to find out
what everyone wants to see happen in the coming year.This year, there was demand for the following: Erin Keller, the
birth of the temporal age, the Borg, the Yelss, the Xindi, the Iconians… and
many people thought a glimpse into the future would be neat.In the past, I tended to divide all of those
goodies into several episodes and spread them out over the course of the entire
season (except for the Borg, because I’ve always said NO to Borg).But this year, I figured… what the hell,
it’s the final year, why not give the readers exactly what they want?The result is probably one of the better
episodes Season Five has to offer.

Oddly enough, “Dimensional Analysis” is actually an episode I
started writing three years ago.During
the second season of TFF, I drafted an episode called “Dimensional
Analysis.”Once that draft was
complete, I wrote the episode… which turned out to be “Termina.”Obviously, I didn’t follow that original
draft very closely, because while “Termina” and “Dimensional Analysis” have
similar themes, they are very different episodes.So, I had the complete draft for
“Dimensional Analysis” sitting around for more than three years—and when I
stumbled upon it early in the fifth season, I just knew that I had to
write the episode again.(And since I obviously
had to make some considerable modifications to incorporate the Xindi into the
plot… the plot is once again, dramatically different from the original
draft.So I can use it again
later on!This one little rough draft
is certainly getting a lot of mileage.In fact, I’m going to use it as the basis for every single episode from
now on.Kidding!Kidding!)

Now, before I go any further, I want to clear something up: LIFE
SIGNS and BIO-SIGNATURES.It’s happened
before, it happens in this episode, and it’s bound to happen again.And people yell at me every time it happens
(mostly in the episode poll, where I can’t respond to those complaints).In many, many episodes, the Starlight
strolls up to an alien ship and scans for life signs.In “Dimensional Analysis,” the Majestic scans the Yelss
junker in the beginning of the episode and it doesn’t find any life signs… But
the sensors do indicate the presence of bio-signatures.I figure, if there aren’t any life signs
aboard a starship (because the crew is dead), then at the very least, the
sensors can detect bio-signatures… that doesn’t necessarily mean the crew is
alive, but the sensors can detect the organic matter in the decaying
flesh.Or something like that.So that’s my reasoning.Now stop complaining!J

It’s my dream, by the way, to make an audio commentary on a
DVD.I can ramble for hours on end
about absolutely nothing, and actually make it sound semi-interesting.So maybe one day, 20 years from now, you’ll
hear the audio version of this on the TFF Season Five DVD.Just remember—you saw it here first!Though I bet DVDs will be growing obsolete
in 20 years…Bah, as long as I can make
my freaking commentary.

As usual, this episode is littered with plenty of little
in-jokes.The Epoch is an
allusion to the time ship in Chrono Trigger, a truly excellent Super
Nintendo game that featured a lot of time travel.The Kasuto Expanse is a reference to The Legend of Zelda—Kasuto
was a town in Zelda II… Most of the other little references (such as the Markab
System and Commander Franklin), are nods to Richard Biggs, the actor who played
Doctor Franklin on Babylon 5.He
recently died of some sort of aneurism, so I thought I’d pay a little tribute.

And finally, I must give thanks to www.ditl.org
and www.wikipedia.com for their
excellent information on the Xindi and all things temporal.I might have a fairly decent memory, but not
even I could remember the name of the Xindi Aquatic Ambassador.Or those stinking thermobaric cloud
layers…

Oh, one last thing… don’t ask me about Alan or Erin or Corey
Tompkins.Until that final episode, I
won’t be answering any questions about that future timeline, because I’m not
going to spoil a thing for anybody.All
I can tell you about the final episode is that it will be epic and
massive beyond anything you have ever seen.And that it will not end with strange and ominous Nazi guy peering into
the camera. (And if you’re reading this after you’ve read the final
episode, then you won’t have any questions in the first place.)